By Tamara Vallejos on February 22, 2012

Cursive—and really anything its frontman, Tim Kasher, puts out—can offer a pretty divisive listen. But in the instance of Cursive’s seventh album, any preconceptions definitely need to go out the window. I Am Gemini is more of an auditory theater piece than a traditional record, though you wouldn’t fully grasp its intricacies before flipping through the 12-page script, complete with stage directions, that accompanies the liner notes. The story of twins separated at birth and reunited in a sinister power struggle, I Am Gemini’s concept is the perfect way to anchor Kasher’s uneven vocal style and abrupt musicality, attributing each switch in tone to a character and giving listeners a fantastically immersive, imaginative 43 minutes. While most lyrics confound when out of context, a few tracks stand on their own, like lead single “The Sun and Moon,” the album’s bounciest and most singable moment, highlighting the duality of brothers Cassius and Pollock. Cursive fan or not, you’re going to want someone to stage this.